Licensee hit with £4,000 fine for showing Sky Sports illegally
Brian McGeogh, of Harveys Bar on Maryhill Road in Glasgow, received a criminal conviction at Glasgow Sheriff Court on 27 October for showing Sky Sports without the correct commercial viewing agreement.
He was ordered to pay £4,000 in compensation.
ID Inquiries investigated the premises on behalf of Sky Business and passed the evidence gathered to the police to consider for a criminal prosecution under the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Sky Business said it has made arrangements to visit more than 700 pubs each week in towns and cities across the UK this season, as part of its commitment to visiting every licensed premises reported by other publicans and/or organisations for illegally showing Sky.
'Uneven playing field'
Alison Dolan, deputy managing director at Sky Business, said: “The issue of illegal Sky use is very close to the hearts of pubs who pay for legitimate subscriptions because they are being left short-changed by licensees who broadcast Sky content illegally.
“It creates an uneven playing field for their businesses, which is why we are committed to visiting thousands of pubs this season, as well as investigating suppliers and continuing to take legal action against those licensees who choose to televise Sky content illegally.”
